ABx Group (ASX: ABX) has exceeded the 20 million tonne resource milestone in its updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the rare earth elements (REE) deposit at the Deep Leads – Rubble Mound project in northern Tasmania.
“This substantial upgrade of the Mineral Resource arises from 30 new holes, redrilling old bauxite holes that did not reach the REE horizon and more assays from incompletely assayed thick REE zones,” Managing Director and CEO, Mark Cooksey, said.
“As predicted, the thickness of the mineralized horizon has increased by 10% to 7.7m and the grade has increased by 15%. The grades and thickness of the more closely drilled Indicated Resources category have increased significantly.
“ABx has assessed available production technologies and recently commenced field and lab testing of production alternatives, focusing on production at the all-important pH 4 (same acidity as apple juice).
“Only true ionic adsorption clay REE deposits like ABx’s can deliver high recoveries using benign, low-cost processing. Our work with Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) confirmed our mineralization as ionic adsorption clay.
“The enriched levels of the high-value permanent magnet rare earths used in advanced technologies is an exceptional feature of this deposit, which could be amenable to the very low-cost production methods that are being tested by ABx and specialist consultants.
“Not all clays are created equal and, while REEs in clays are an emerging exploration target, very few deposits globally are confirmed as ionic adsorption clay REE mineralization that are amenable to low-cost benign production methods.”
Exploration Campaign
As a result of the successes at Deep Leads and Rubble Mound and a new tenement application covering the prospective ground, ABx has applied for government approval and support for an exploration campaign to extend REE mineral resources a further 10km -16km to the Wind Break REE discovery.
ABx’s development of an efficient drilling technology in conjunction with eDrill of Tasmania over the last two years will continue throughout this new campaign and has given ABx a priority on securing the needed drilling fleet and experienced workforce, which is appreciated.
The interim Mineral Resource is based on 635 drillholes totalling 6,224m drilled and 2,893m assayed.
This Resource estimate includes deeper and significantly thicker resource zones than previously reported, with the average thickness increasing from 7.0m to 7.7m. Grades have increased by 15% overall. The heavy permanent magnet REOs (Dy2O3 + Tb4O7) represent 4.2% of the TREO, the highest known proportion for any REE resource in Australia.
For further information please visit: https://www.abxgroup.com.au/
